Unique pizza recipes

Brandy is the author of the food blog, Nutmeg Nanny. In her spare time she enjoys developing recipes, baking and cooking. She is a small town girl who left the corn fields of Ohio for the scenic beauty of the Hudson Valley region of New ...

Take-out is pricey. Why not make your own?

Ordering take-out pizza can get expensive, so why not give these three recipes a try. Easy, delicious, homemade and light on the wallet.

No need to bring home dinner when you can easily prepare one of these fabulous pizza recipes. Whether you are looking for the classic, the gourmet or the dessert, we have you covered! Depending on your time, you could make your crust or you can easily purchase fresh pizza dough from your local neighborhood pizza shop or even the grocery store. For our gourmet asparagus and parmesan pizza, we used a lovely whole wheat pizza crust that included whole seeds (flax, sunflower, etc.). It added a nice subtle flavor to the already delicious toppings.

If you are really short on time, just remember you can pick up precooked pizza crusts in the store and even use puff pastry in place of traditional crust. Both are equally delicious and are a perfect time-saver!

Asparagus and Parmesan pizza recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound whole wheat pizza dough

Cornmeal

1 pound asparagus, cut into chunks

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1/2 cup arugula

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Parmesan slices

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

If you are using traditional raw pizza dough, let it set out until room temperature. This will help make the dough more pliable and easier to use while shaping the crust. Shape into a large pizza crust or make into mini pizzas. Add to cornmeal-dusted baking sheet.

Drizzle top with olive oil, leaving a little extra since we will not be using a red sauce on this pizza.

Add one cup of the mozzarella cheese to the top of the pizza. Top with asparagus chunks and green onions. Keeping the asparagus raw will result in a slighty crunchy asparagus. If you want a softer, more cooked texture, then blanche asparagus pieces before adding to pizza.

Top with remaining mozzarella cheese and lightly sprinkle the outside crust with freshly cracked black pepper and Kosher salt.

Place in oven and cook for about 18 minutes for a large pie and 10 minutes for a small pie or until cooked through and the crust is puffy.

Pull out of oven, let sit for a few minutes and top with a couple handfuls of baby arugula and sliced parmesan.

Margarita pizza recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound pizza dough

Cornmeal

Olive oil

2 garlic cloves

2 heirloom tomatoes (thinly sliced)

8 ounces fresh mozzerella (sliced)

Fresh basil leaves

Directions

Preheat oven for 425 degrees.

If you are using traditional raw pizza dough, let it set out until room temperature. This will help make the dough more pliable and easier to use while shaping the crust. Shape into a large pizza crust or make into mini pizzas. Add to cornmeal-dusted baking sheet.

Drizzle crust with olive oil and garlic. Spread out as you would if you were using a red sauce.